This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Provo man's attempt to escape jail ended Saturday when he tried to steal a Good Samaritan's car.
Police say the 20-year-old man, whom jail records indicate was originally held for possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia, was participating in the county's Jail Industries program.
On Saturday, the man was taken to work at Universal Industrial Sales in Lindon, where he checked in at 6 a.m. By 6:15 a.m., the man's supervisor notified a sheriff's deputy that the man was missing.
The supervisor said his truck was missing and he believed the man had stolen it, according to court documents.
The truck was later spotted on Interstate 15 in Springville, where it had run out of gas. Police said that the man was picked up by a passerby, who took him to a gas station in Spanish Fork to get gas.
But the man attempted to drive off with the passerby's car, police said. The car's owner tried to take the keys out, and in the ensuing struggle, the man crashed the car.
The driver and an off-duty police officer tried to keep the man in the car until police arrived, but the man pulled out a syringe and, after stating he had Hepatitis C, threatened to stab them. He was eventually placed under arrest and transported back to the jail.
Police also found a pocket knife with an open blade in the driver's seat of the car.
The man is facing charges of escaping from a correctional facility, vehicle theft, aggravated assault, attempted vehicle theft and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, all third-degree felonies; and leaving the scene of an accident, a class B misdemeanor.
He is being held on $50,000 cash bail and will make a first appearance in court on July 23.
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